covering/primer
 

Good choice for covering Buck, no need to prime the Solartex before you apply color. The natural colored Solartex is meant to be painted. I have used it on many of my models and love it. Some time try using Klass Kote epoxy paint you won't regret it...Good luck!

I agree with VJ. I did adhesion test on natural Solartex with rustoleum, nitrate dope/rustoleum, and BUSA primer/rustoleum. All passed the scotch tape snap off test. Latex sticks well too. Only potential problem is fraying at the cut edges which tends to be exaggerated by the paint. A couple coats of nitrate dope and rubbing down with steel wool cleans this up.
Chuck

+1 on the recommendation for Klass Kote for a really permanent and good paint job.

Auto paints are perfect for use with Solartex. I prime only over sheeted areas, and only when I'm trying to simulate metal, by filling the weave.

Base coat/clear coat provides a high quality finish. I haven't gone to that expense, however. I used acryllic enamel.

Don't expect too much out of the Alsa product. A friend tried it, and came away disappointed.

When I build my Luscombe Silvaire, I plan to use self adhesive. metal foil. I used it on the cowl, of the Ryan pictured above.

A quick question, maybe a dumb question; from what I have read here, you can cover a sheeted balsa and framed plane with natural solartex and paint it just like you would a glassed plane; I guess substitute Solartex for glassing; what about covering up the weave? using a primer will accomplish this, right?

What are the advantages of Solartex over glassing, other than the ease; I would think Glassing is stronger because the resin soaks into the wood where Solartex would not.

I thought/read that you use Solartex over open areas and glass the sheeted area, and paint; could not just use Solatex to cover the entire plane, like a large scale Warbird like a P-51 and paint it?

Thanks.

Dasintex, no problems covering your entire plane with Solartex. It will go over open bays as well as sheeted areas. Natural Solartex is meant to be painted and does not require any priming, simply apply the paint right over the covering. There is also no need to fill the weave on this product like you would on a traditional cloth covering, you will only be adding unecessary weight.

Solartex is a great covering, it is very easy to apply, but it's not the lightest. It can't be compared to the strength of glassing. Fiberglassing over a sheeted area will yield much more strength than using Solartex. You made mention of the resin soaking into the wood, you don't get this using Solartex because no resin is being used. Solartex is definitely more stout that using plastic films such as Monokote or Ultra-Kote. Hope this helps.

VincentJ;

Thanks for the reply, you say it's not the lightest, I would assume that Monokote/Ultrakote is the lightest, I'm also assuming that if you didn't Primer Solatex, it would be lighter than Glassing? I'm interested in painting a Warbird to avoid using shiny Plastic Films, without going through all the work of Glassing; Solartex seems like a great alternative.

Another quick question, does Solartex wrinkle like Monokote/Ultrakote when the plane is left in the sun?

As far as strength; it seems that if ARFs are sold and already covered with Monokote/Ultrakote and perform well without falling apart, than Solartex would be sufficient and provides a method to be able to paint your bird the scheme you want without the work of glassing?

A friend does as you propose. He fills the weave with nitrate dope, to create a smooth surface. He then uses a laquer auto primer, and auto paint. He does this only on fully sheeted models. The finish is outstanding, but like Vincent states, there is a heavy penalty in weight gain.

Glassing isn't that difficult. Vincent has a nice tutorial in his current thread. Maybe he will provide a link to it.

Years ago, I taught myself how to glass, using Minwax Polycrilic. These days, I prefer epoxy finishing resin.

There should be vids on You Tube, ilustrating both methods.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/gian...-build-33.html Here's the link, it starts on post #822.